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1 1 (January 23, 2008)

handle is hein.crs/crsaitc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22022
Updated January 23, 2008
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
Julie M. Whittaker
Specialist in Income Security
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
The Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program provides income support
to individuals unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster and who are not eligible
for regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. DUA is funded through the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). DUA is administered by the
Department of Labor (DOL) through each state's UC agency. In the 109th Congress,
P.L. 109-176 was signed into law on March 6, 2006, extending the duration of DUA
benefits from 26 to 39 weeks for victims of the Hurricane Katrina and Rita disasters.
This extension ended on June 3, 2006, for those qualifying for benefits on account of
Hurricane Katrina and on June 24, 2006, for those affected by Hurricane Rita. The
extension did not apply to any subsequent major disasters. As of this writing, the 1 10th
Congress has no active legislation directly affecting DUA benefits. The report will be
updated as events warrant.
The Unemployment Compensation (UC) system generally does not provide UC
benefits to the self-employed, to those who are unable to work, or to those who do not
have a recent earnings history. However, when the President declares a major disaster,
victims who would typically be ineligible for UC may be eligible for Disaster
Unemployment Assistance (DUA).I DUA benefits are funded through the Disaster Relief
Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funds
are then transferred to the Department of Labor (DOL) and then distributed by DOL to
each affected state's UC agency.2
1 Authorization for DUA can be found in the Stafford Act, Section 410, P.L. 100-707, 42 USC
5177. Regulations can be found at 20 CFR 625.
2 For a description of FEMA, see CRS Report RL33064, Organization and Mission of the
Emergency Preparedness andResponse Directorate: Issues and Options for the 109th Congress,
by Keith Bea.

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